The Yearbook by Carol Masciola Review

"WHAT'S THE YEARBOOK ABOUT? 

Misfit teen Lola Lundy falls asleep in a storage room in her high school library and wakes up to find herself 80 years in the past. The Fall Frolic dance is going full blast in the gym, and there she makes an instant connection with the brainy and provocative Peter Hemmings, class of ’24. His face is familiar, and she realizes she’s seen his senior portrait in a ragged old yearbook in the storage room. By the end of the dance, Lola begins to see a way out of her disastrous Twenty First Century life: She’ll make a new future for herself in the past. But major mental illness lies in Lola’s family background. Has she slipped through a crack in time, or into an elaborate, romantic hallucination based on the contents of an old yearbook?"

YABC.

It's going to be hard to not tell spoilers here. 'tis the life of a book reviewer. Of course, I could willingly do a little trolling, but that would be mean. And it will ruin the experience for all those potential readers. 

Okay, here we go. 

Lola Lundy is a troubled teen. She has a terrible past, a rough time at school, and a group home to live in. All those three things make her life very miserable, but when she experiences a trip back to 1924, she truly lives and comes alive. Sure, there are some discrepancies between the modern days and the previous century. But she quickly adjusts in that old period where no one knows about her history and her outsider social status. And she feels much more at home in the 1920s than our times, especially after meeting Peter Hemmings. 

Peter is brilliant, and he is constantly looking into how things work and tick. When he meets Lola, he is more than intrigued by her and her ways (like wearing pants, speaking different dialect, etc.). She is a mystery to him, and it is exciting to see the way their relationship goes. 

The world building of the 1924 is one of the greatest parts of the book. From the description about the flappers to the ancient-like society to the technology (or lack of it), I am drawn into the story and I find exactly why Lola sees the 1920s in positive way. 

Told from third person omniscient, the book offers more information and different point of views. I applaud the ways the POV shifts and changes, making the story much more interesting and exciting to read. It's like an adventure. 

The ending. Wow. Grand conclusion. The Yearbook is obviously a standalone. Loose ends tied, amazing scenes, a gripping piece of dialogue, and a HEA. 

Despite all these great parts, there is that pesky slow beginning I didn't particularly enjoy. I didn't really connect to Lola (until the fourth chapter), and I didn't understand Peter. But it takes a while for my feet to relax and let the book take me to the 1924. 

Overall, The Yearbook is an amazing story of a girl who may or may not be insane. In a possible mental breakdown or a possible time travel back to the past, she finds herself and a family to love. It's a great story to sink my feet into. 

Rating: Three out of Five